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Parity is perilous (for Las Vegas):

This past November, I had the great pleasure of covering the Boston College Eagles for three games at the annual Charleston Classic tournament. A few things happened to me that weekend…

1.     I finally fell head over heels for college basketball again, after taking a four-year fandom hiatus while I was playing college basketball.

2.     The Baylor Bears toppled any former fan flings I’d had with other college programs, and became my new favorite team.

3.     I got paid more than I ever have (perhaps ever will) to write about a sport that was as familiar to me as baking cookies and insider trading is to Martha Stewart.

A few weeks later I hopped aboard the John Calapari/Kentucky bandwagon when ESPN2 aired All-Access Kentucky: a sports-reality show that infiltrated the lives and personalities of the 2012-2013 Kentucky Wildcats basketball team.

So then, in November, I had two teams that I could stand by come March when the rest of the world begins to pay attention to college basketball. Only problem is now, in February, neither Kentucky nor Baylor is even guaranteed to make the tournament.

That’s just it though. Nobody, not even the highest-paid ESPN sports analysts, has been able to differentiate between the mediocre, the good, and the great teams in college basketball this season. With only a few weeks remaining in the season, not a single team has held the #1 ranking for more than two weeks. It seems that every Sports Center sidebar scroll looks something like this: Wisconsin Badgers upset #1 Indiana Hoosiers, #1 Duke blown away by Hurricanes, #3 Florida Gators drop to unranked Razorbacks and the list goes on…

At times Indiana, Michigan, Duke, Miami, Syracuse, and Kansas have dazzled fans, but just as quickly have usurped their thrones. On any given night there are 15 or 20 teams that could be the best team in college basketball. This parity gives those of us who haven’t watched every college basketball game over the last four months a fighting chance to pick a successful bracket this March. Unfortunately for me, this means that none of the information I’ve obtained from hundreds of hours watching college basketball holds any retainable value. I can’t tell if I’m more frustrated or excited by the uncertainty of it all.

Come March, tournament bids will not be based solely on win/loss records. Rather, the selection committee will allow a team’s strength of schedule to take precedent over its record. Teams competing in the Big Ten and the Big East will get tournament nods where teams who fare well in the SEC and (although it pains me to say this) the ACC need to get the boot.

The Mid-Major vs. Big School Conundrum:

What I want to see is more Mid-Major schools in the tournament. Every March, college basketball fans fall in love with a non name-brand basketball team, and with a plethora of strong mid-major schools floating around with RPIs greater than 68, this year should be no different.

Who wouldn’t want to see Creighton’s Doug McDermott or Murray State’s Isaiah Cannon (who reminds me of a young Chauncey Billups) drop 40 on Kansas and send Bill Self and crew packing? That’s why they call it March Madness—because anything can happen.

When the smaller schools compete in March on the big stage, not only do fans get to root for the underdog, but fans also forge the opportunity to watch top rate players who flew under the radar because they don’t play at a big school… a la Damian Lillard. And with smaller schools becoming more prevalent in March, college basketball will see more small school success stories like those of Butler and Gonzaga. Just think, 10 years ago neither of these schools was considered a basketball powerhouse, but now because of successful tournament runs and national exposure in March, both teams are able to draw in the blue chip recruits that once wouldn’t have even considered such schools.

Something tells me Mid-Major schools will have a big role in the drama this March.

Who knows? Maybe we will have a Cinderella story that rivals Davidson in 2008. Maybe, a new hero will rise from Stephen Curry’s leftover ashes after he caught fire against Gonzaga, then Georgetown, then Wisconsin, then Kansas that March. Maybe, as the snow melts, children across the country will be hoisting driveway jumpers calling out “Cannon” or “McDermott” instead of “Curry.”

Or maybe we’ll have a clash of the best that the Big East and Big Ten have to offer (Georgetown and Indiana as of right now). Maybe, we’ll get the pleasure of witnessing the Dwayne-Wade-like Victor Oladipo and recently ridiculous Otto Porter square off before they put on NBA uniforms.

Definitely, come March we can count on beer, wings, crossovers, and highlight dunks on our big-screen TVs. Definitely, we will witness relatives in their alma mater’s jersey cheering at top volume for a team that has not one player they can name. Definitely, scuffles will break out, buzzer beaters will break hearts, Dick Vitale will have an aneurysm, all in the marvel of madness this coming March.

Buckle up!

Photo credit: gamedayr.com